Raspberry tart

This is a great little desert for any season. You can vary the berries used, though I've found that I have the most success with raspberries and strawberries. (Apples are also an option.) It's also very easily played with. If you feel like adding a little cinnamon or lemon zest, go for it!

Ingredients

• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 6 Tablespoons Cold Unsalted Butter
• 1 Large Egg, Separated
• 4 Teaspoons Ice Water
• 2 Cups Raspberries
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Cornstarch
• Parchment Paper

Method

• Preheat oven to 425 F.

• Whisk flour and salt together.

• Cut in butter using pastry knife.

• Keep cutting the dough until it reaches a cornmeal-like consistency. A good tip to get rid of large clumps once most of the dough has gone to small crumbs is to use two table knives in a criss-crossing motion until it's all nice and fine. If all goes well, the dough should look like this.

• Now add the egg yolk (reserve the white for later) and the ice water in. It's very important that the water is cold, so you might want to let it cool down in the freezer while you prepare, or put some cold tap water in a dish with ice and strain it out when it comes time to add it to the dough. At any rate, get that all mixed up.

• Flour your countertop and roll the dough out into a fairly good sized disc. (About six to eight inches in diameter should do it.) Using your fingers to keep the corners from cracking is also a good idea.

• Rinse your raspberries, and then pile them into the center of your dough disc, leaving about two inches bare. They should be bunched in there pretty tightly. Squishing them a little bit doesn't hurt anything, as you can see.

• Mix the sugar and cornstarch together well, then sprinkle over the raspberries.

• Now, fold the remaining edge of the pastry disc up, pleating as necessary. Brush the outside with egg white.

• Looks pretty tasty, huh? Well, it's time to bake it. Cover a cookie sheet in parchment paper, and sit the tart in the center. Cook on the bottom rack of your oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust has become gold and flaky. It'll smell so good it'll be hard to leave alone, so you might want to occupy yourself somehow. Here's an idea:

• Once your pastry is done, remove from the oven and let it cool off for at least fifteen minutes before eating. Slice into wedges and serve over ice cream for a great dessert!